Before This Storm Ends
by DinosXGoXRawr
Summary: Lavender hadn't meant for this to happen. It was a total mistake. She wished that she could take it all back. She was much too young to be a mother...
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So I said in my other fic, for anyone that's reading that, that I was working on this right now as well. For some strange reason, I've taken a liking to this couple. Please tell me I'm not the only one who ships Lavender/Seamus. I mean, they're completely adorable, right? ...anyway, I wanted to write a S/L story for a while, and this was the first idea that popped into my head. I'm excited for it, but I can't promise fast updates. I'm having some problems with stuff on my laptop, so maybe an update every week. Hope you guys enjoy this, though. This chapter's not very long, but they'll get longer as the story progresses. Please read and review. (: Thanks. **

Lavender's brown eyes flooded with tears as she stared at the tiny plastic device that was sitting in front of her in the first floor girls' lavatory. She never thought a day like this would come. She had never planned on what had happened. It was just an innocent mistake. Maybe all teenagers said that when they screwed up in some way, but Lavender meant it. It was just a mistake, and sometimes when people make mistakes, they can't take them back. And Lavender most definitely couldn't take this back.

A thousand thoughts started to rush through her mind, all of them crashing and clattering together until she didn't know what she was thinking anymore. Tears streamed down her face, causing her mascara to run, and she leaned over the sink and tried to calm her breathing. She was scared out of her mind. Her throat had gone dry, and her whole body felt numb. That stupid little pink plus sign was staring up at her, like it was mocking her for doing stupid things. She would have absolutely done anything to go back in time and change how she had acted, how truly irresponsible she had behaved. But there was no going back. She didn't have a Time-Turner, and so she was stuck with the consequences. She was only sixteen years old, barely even old enough to make her own decisions. So how was she supposed to be old enough to take care of a baby by herself?

The door of the bathroom swung open, and Lavender quickly swept the device into her bag and wiped away the tears that had stained her pale face. She knew before she turned around that it was her best friend, Parvati Patil, who had entered. She tried to calm her breathing once more and regain her composure, and when she was sure that she looked decent enough, she turned to face her.

"You alright, Lav?" Parvati asked with a small smile. She knew that her best friend had been crying. Her face was still red and her eyes still puffy. Parvati had a pretty good idea of what exactly was going on with Lavender, but she was too afraid to ask. She and Lavender told each other everything, so she knew that Lavender would tell her this.

"No," Lavender replied, still contemplating whether or not she needed to say anything to Parvati. She wasn't exactly ready to tell anyone. After all, she had just found out herself five minutes ago. Why did Parvati have to know so soon? "I'm just…I'm just feeling a little sick is all. Come on. Let's go to dinner." She held out her arm to Parvati, which Parvati usually hooked onto with her own, but instead, she just eyed her friend skeptically.

"Lav, it's not just feeling a little sick. Otherwise, you would have gone to Madam Pomfrey." Parvati crossed her arms and continued to gaze at Lavender with wide, dark eyes that seemed to bore right into Lavender's thoughts. But Lavender didn't budge. She crossed her arms as well and stared right back at Parvati, determined not to let her best friend get into her mind. And thankfully, Parvati was the first one to move. But she didn't leave Lavender alone. Instead, she reached into Lavender's bag and grabbed the little device that was lying at the very top. Lavender tried to stop her, but it was too late. Parvati's eyes narrowed at the little pink plus sign, and Lavender's breath caught in her throat.

"Lavender?" Parvati asked, her voice shaking a little as she stared at her friend, her beliefs about Lavender's behavior confirmed. She just couldn't believe it, though. She didn't want to. Lavender was completely boy crazy, yes, but she wasn't that crazy. She wouldn't sleep with anyone, especially if she wasn't dating them, and as far as Parvati knew, Lavender wasn't dating anyone. So how could this be possible?

Lavender's eyes filled with tears again, and she wrapped her arms around Parvati in a tight hug as she sobbed into her shoulder. She was so scared. How was she supposed to do this? She didn't even want a pet to take to Hogwarts, so how could she handle taking care of a baby? Her whole body started to shake, and Parvati wrapped her arms around Lavender as she cried. She wished that she could say she knew how Lavender felt, or say something to comfort her friend. But there was nothing to say.

"Who's the father?" Parvati asked after a few minutes.

Lavender's sobs stopped suddenly as she pulled away from Parvati. She knew that this question was bound to rise up at some point, but she only wished that it had been later, so that she could prepare herself for it. Parvati was not going to be happy at all. Exactly one month ago today, the Gryffindors had hosted a party to bring in the new school year, and Lavender had attended, promising herself that she was just going to hang out with her friends and enjoy the night. No drinks, just talking. But one of her friends had talked her into having one firewhiskey, and so she drank it. Lavender had no idea that she had such a low tolerance for alcohol, so she had no idea that one drink would have made her drunk. She had stumbled all over the room before one of the guys in her year found her and took her up to his dormitory so that she could get some sleep. He must have been pretty exhausted as well, because he curled up in bed next to her and just laid there, not moving. She wasn't exactly sure what happened to lead her to doing this, but she ended up having sex with him, and then they fell asleep in his bed. The next morning, Lavender woke up next to one Seamus Finnigan, a boy that she had only talked to on just a few occasions. She screamed, waking him up, and they both agreed that they had been drunk and it was a mistake. They wouldn't tell anyone about the night, and they would go on about their lives just as always. They were not friends. They didn't speak. They sat close to each other in class, but otherwise, there was nothing.

But the worst part was this: Seamus Finnigan was the only boy that she had ever slept with, and she knew that the baby was his. This boy that she barely even knew. And even worse, Parvati did know Seamus. In fact, Parvati was almost in love with Seamus. She had been waiting on him to ask her on a date for three years now, and he had never done it. When Lavender told Parvati who the father of the baby was, she knew that Parvati would probably hate her for life. They would probably not be friends anymore. And Lavender didn't know if she could go through this pregnancy without her best friend at her side.

"Lav?" Parvati asked after a long silence. "Who's the father?"

Lavender's tears resumed. She couldn't do it. She couldn't possibly look her best friend in the eyes and tell her that she had slept with the boy that she had been in love with since the day she laid eyes on him. It would break her heart. Especially if she knew that it wasn't just meaningless sex. No, it was so, so much more than that. Seamus was most definitely the father of the little baby growing inside of her. "I can't tell you…" she muttered underneath her breath, not meeting Parvati's eyes. "You'll hate me."

Parvati's eyes narrowed, obviously thinking hard about what could possibly make her mad. There was only one boy that came to mind, but she knew that that couldn't be right. Lavender had never even talked to him… "Well, I mean…no, it couldn't be." She smiled a little and patted her friend on the shoulder. "Is it Ron? It's gotta be. You've liked him for a while now. And I always had a feeling that he liked you too."

Lavender shook her head rapidly and looked down at the floor, clenching her fists and trying to gather enough strength to tell her. She was just so stupid. Why did this have to happen to her? "Okay, you remember that party last month? The one where I got drunk by accident and ended up in the boys' dormitories? Well…I accidentally slept with someone that I didn't mean to be with. I mean, I don't even know him. I didn't even know his last name until last year! It's crazy, really, but I can't tell you. You'll be mad."

Parvati glared at Lavender and moved away from her, her whole body stiffening. "Seamus? Seamus Finnigan? The guy I've liked since first year?" She gulped and backed away from Lavender some more, suddenly acting as if Lavender was some kind of animal. She looked into Lavender's brown eyes and then down at the pregnancy test she was holding in her hands. And then she threw it down on the ground in anger and stormed out of the bathroom. She couldn't even think at the moment. Tears were blurring her vision, and she wiped them away before she could reach any other people in the hallway. She couldn't believe it. The best friend that she had so trusted no more than ten minutes ago had betrayed her in the worst way possible. Well, Lavender Brown was not going to be her best friend anymore. She didn't need her. She could find other friends…

Lavender sunk down on the floor in the bathroom and cried until she couldn't cry anymore. She had just lost the rest of her teenage years. She had surely lost her reputation and respect. She had lost her future. But right now, worst of all, she had lost her best friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! So sorry that it took so long for me to update. School started back, and we started this new college system, and then I couldn't think of where exactly I wanted to go with this. But I figured it out. Hope you enjoy! R&R please. **

Lavender returned to the girls' dormitory that night, and thankfully, Parvati was asleep. The other two girls in the dorm were staring at her like she had just murdered someone, and she knew that Parvati had already told them. Her friends were the worst gossips in the world, and she knew that the secret would be all over the school before the end of breakfast tomorrow. She wished that it wouldn't be, but what could she do? She had trusted Parvati, and Parvati had betrayed her. She crawled into bed with tears in her eyes, but she didn't sleep at all that night.

The next morning she got out of bed and realized that all of the girls had left her there by herself. An uncomfortable feeling started in her stomach, and she rushed to the bathroom and threw up. The morning sickness was starting to kick in. She brushed her teeth to get the taste out of her mouth and dressed quickly, not looking as cute as she usually did. She didn't care if her hair was curled perfectly or if it was dressed with a cute bow today. She just wanted to get through the day alive and well, without being tortured by her used-to-be friends.

As soon as she walked into the Great Hall, she knew that word had already spread. The whole Gryffindor table stopped eating and chatting with each other, and instead they fixated their eyes on her. A few of the girls whispered to each other, and then they started giggling. Lavender tried her best to ignore them, but she had never been very strong when it came to gossip. She hated knowing that people were saying bad things about her behind her back. She continued walking with her head held high, though, and she stopped when she reached the part of the table where Parvati was sitting with their other two roommates, Grace and Haley. They were laughing about something, and as soon as they saw Lavender, they stopped and glared at her.

"Sorry, Lav, but we don't want you sitting with us anymore," Parvati said, setting her backpack in the empty seat next to her. "I'm sure you have plenty of other friends to sit with. Oh, why don't you go sit with your baby daddy? I'm sure he'd love to have you." Her voice was icy cold, and the look in her eyes told Lavender that yes, the friendship was most definitely over. She gulped and turned away from the three girls, and she continued on down the table, searching for a place to sit.

Seamus was sitting at the end of the table with Dean and Neville. They seemed completely oblivious to the rumors flying around the room, because when Lavender approached them, they were simply talking about Quidditch, unlike the other Gryffindors. Lavender smiled. "Hi, guys," she said, sitting down next to Seamus.

Seamus jumped at her presence and scooted away from her, and Dean and Neville looked away uncomfortably. "Oh, um…hey, Lavender," he murmured, not looking her in the eyes. "Listen, I've been hearing some really crazy rumors going around, and I think that I should talk to you about it. Are you-"

"Pregnant?" Lavender finished for him, at which point Dean and Neville gathered their things and moved to sit with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Yes, I am." Seamus opened his mouth to speak again, but Lavender held up a hand to silence him. "This is all so completely messed up. We barely even know each other. We've only talked a couple of times-"

"I'm not the father," Seamus said so abruptly that it made Lavender go silent. He sounded angry and confused, like he hated her more than anything at the moment. "I don't care what everyone else is saying, I don't care what you say. I'm not."

"Seamus, it was an accident, okay? We can always give it up for adoption and forget it ever happened. I don't even want to think about abortion-" Lavender was interrupted once again.

"Why are you talking to me about this? I don't have anything to do with it." With that, he threw his fork down rather forcefully, grabbed his backpack, and darted out of the Great Hall.

Lavender heaved a sigh and looked down the table at Parvati, who had evidently been watching the whole conversation. She wore a smug smirk on her face as she looked away from Lavender and directed her attention to Grace and Haley again. Lavender could feel tears welling up in her eyes again as she reached for a piece of toast to eat, but she stopped when someone touched her shoulder. She looked behind her and saw that Professor McGonagall was there, looking down at her with kind, though rather strict, eyes.

"Miss Brown, could you come with me, please?" she asked, and Lavender got up without a word and followed her out of the Great Hall.

Professor McGonagall led her down the hallway until they reached her classroom, where Professor Dumbledore was already standing and waiting. Lavender started to feel really nervous as she sat down in a chair in front of the desk, and she watched as Dumbledore walked toward her with a kind of twinkle in his eyes that she didn't recognize.

"So there has been some pretty nasty gossip about you this morning, Miss Brown," he said, turning away from her and staring out the window. "I've never been one to believe rumors, so I'll ask you personally. Are you pregnant?"

Lavender let out a little gasp at the word, not because she hadn't heard it before, but simply because she didn't want to admit to her teachers that she had broken school rules and gotten herself into this mess. When she didn't answer, Dumbledore turned to her, and she nodded, not meeting his eyes.

"Hmm…" he said, turning to look out the window again, "And is it true that Mr. Finnigan is the father?"

Again, Lavender didn't answer, and again, Dumbledore turned to her. She nodded. "Although he's having some denial problems," she added.

"You do realize that I'll have to tell your parents, correct?" Dumbledore said. Once again, Lavender nodded. She was about to cry, but then Dumbledore spoke again. "Or I can let you tell them when you choose to do it. I won't make you say anything, but I do encourage you to do it soon."

Lavender's mouth had gone dry. It seemed that all she could do was nod, so that's what she did, once again. Dumbledore dismissed her to go to class, and she decided that she would tell her mom and dad about the pregnancy in a letter that she would write tonight.

The rest of the day was a blur. Lavender went to classes as she was supposed to, although it was awkward having to sit next to Seamus at a station in Potions class. He wouldn't look at her, and neither would anyone else in the room. It was as if she was invisible. Several times she felt like crying, but she held back the tears that threatened to spill over. She was much stronger than that. She wasn't going to let the student body of Hogwarts get her down. She could survive without having any friends…right?

At lunch, she tried to sit with a couple of seventh year girls, but they both seemed unwilling to let her anywhere near them. It wasn't as if she had some contagious, deadly disease. She was only pregnant. Why did people hate her so much? It was an accident. It happened to several teenagers. It wasn't like she was the only teenage girl who had accidentally gotten pregnant by some guy she didn't even know while she was drunk. But no matter how many times that she tried to explain to people that she was not a monster, no one wanted to listen to her. She had become an outcast within a day's time.

She was relieved when it was finally time for bed that night, because she was growing tired of all of the stares and whispers that she received as she walked in the hallway or sat in class. She couldn't even do her homework because the group of fifth year girls sitting across from her kept looking at her and chatting amongst themselves about how "embarrassing" getting pregnant while still in school was. So as she ascended the stairs to her dormitory that she shared with Parvati, Grace, and Haley, she heard their voices drifting down towards her. They didn't sound mad at all. In fact, they sounded rather sad.

"Well, what do we do? We can't just kick her out. We'd get in trouble, wouldn't we?" That was obviously Haley speaking.

And then Parvati's voice responded. "Well, I don't know. I just know that I can't stand looking at her right now. I mean, what kind of a best friend does that? You know I would never do that to her. She likes Ron Weasley, and I would never go get drunk and sleep with him."

"We know," Grace and Haley said simultaneously.

It was Lavender's turn to be upset now. She had expected to walk up the staircase, climb into bed, and ignore her three friends, just as she had done last night. What kind of right did they have to throw her out of her own dorm room? It was hers just as much as it was theirs. Without even glancing at any of them, she stalked into the room, grabbed the pillow and blanket off of her bed, and said, "If you hate me so much, Parvati, why don't you just say it to my face?" She turned on her heel and marched out of the room triumphantly, although she really didn't know where she would be sleeping tonight.

"Fine, I will!" Parvati yelled from behind her, her voice quivering a little. "I hate you!"

Lavender ignored her and walked down the stairs until she reached the common room. It was almost midnight, as far as she could tell. The room was almost completely deserted, except for one person who was sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace. Lavender bit her lip a little and walked slowly over to the couch, trying not to disturb him. He looked as if he were in deep thought. She sat down on the opposite end and pulled her legs up next to her, trying to be as quiet as possible. It didn't work. Seamus looked over at her with an expression of pure disgust clearly written on his face. Lavender looked away from him and instead fluffed her pillow and laid her head down on it, closing her eyes and trying to go to sleep.

"Why are you down here?" Seamus asked after a few minutes.

Lavender's eyes fluttered open again as she flipped over on her back and sat up to look at him. "Parvati, Grace, and Haley don't want me anywhere near them. They hate me." She paused. "It seems like everyone does now. Maybe I should just leave school and go back home."

"Don't do that," Seamus said. He wasn't looking at her, and the expression on his face was hard to read. He looked like he was still thinking rather than listening to her. His eyes flitted in between the floor and the bright fire in front of them. "Not everyone hates you. I don't, anyway."

Lavender's temper flared up again. She kicked off her blanket and stood up from the couch so suddenly that Seamus had no choice but to look at her. "You don't hate me?" she said, attempting to keep her voice level. She didn't want to wake anyone. "Well, thanks for letting me know that this morning when you embarrassed me and stormed out of the Great Hall. By you telling me that you weren't the father, everyone assumed I was just some disgusting slut who slept around and didn't know who the father was."

"I don't think you are," Seamus muttered, so softly that Lavender almost had to lean forward to hear him. "I think you've got your priorities straight. I mean, I don't know you that well, but I kind of think that you're a pretty cool person. I kept telling myself that I needed to become friends with you, but I just never did. I don't know why…" He trailed off for a second, and they stayed in silence for that time, the only sounds being the wind outside the window and the loud, heavy breathing that was emitting from Lavender.

"You know," she said, breaking the silence. "I told everyone who asked today that I didn't know who the father was, just to protect you and your pride and your reputation. I didn't want poor Seamus's name to be run down into the ground." She almost spat the words at him. Her cheeks were still burning a bright red, and she wondered just how close she was to crying again, if she had anymore tears left to cry.

Seamus looked down at the ground, feeling rather guilty now that Lavender had told him that. "Are you sure that I am?" he asked, his voice calm. He hoped that she wouldn't get mad at him for asking.

Lavender let out a breath and crossed her arms. "Yes. Positive."

Seamus was quiet for another minute. All of the lights were off in the common room now, and the only thing that was helping his vision was the orange flames in front of him. "You know, a few people were making fun of you today in the hallway. I stopped and told them to shut up because they didn't know anything about you."

Lavender almost couldn't believe him. He had been so awful to her in the Great Hall, and then he had defended her? It seemed strange, but something about him told her that he was telling the truth. She sat down on the couch next to him, leaving just a small space between them. "Thanks," she murmured, looking away from him. Another silence, and then she spoke again. "I'm not ready to be a mother."

"I'm not ready to be a father," Seamus replied, leaning forward to rest his head in his hands.

Lavender looked over at him and frowned. He looked so distressed, so much more distressed than she had felt ever since she had found out. "You don't have to be involved, you know. It'll probably just be going up for adoption anyway. I can't take care of it."

"But I want to be involved," Seamus said. He rose up again so that he could look her directly in her eyes. "I mean, what kind of guy would I be to leave you alone with a baby? Only a jerk would do that. And I'm not a jerk, even though I've done some pretty jerky things in me life. I've grown up in the past year or so, and I'm not going to run away from me problems, Lavender. I want to help you."

Lavender smiled at him a little, though it was hard to. She now had just a little support through the whole ordeal, but she still felt almost alone. She still had to tell her parents about all of this. Seamus had to tell his parents. He would have to suffer just as much torture as she would. Or maybe no one would bother him. So many thoughts were swimming through Lavender's mind that she didn't know what to do with them. She wanted to go to sleep, to try to clear her mind of the day's events. And then she felt Seamus put his arm around her rather awkwardly, probably wondering if it was okay to touch her. She let him know that it was by putting her head on his shoulder, and that's how they stayed for what seemed like hours.

Eventually, Seamus got up from the couch and started toward the boys' dormitories. As he stepped onto the first stair, he turned back to Lavender. "Goodnight," he said, and then he disappeared up the stairs.

"Goodnight," Lavender called after him, and then she curled up on the couch and fell asleep almost immediately. This would probably be her bed for a long, long time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I know I haven't updated in a loooooooooooong time, and I feel awful about that. I started working on other fanfictions and temporarily forgot about this one. Sorry...but here it is. I know that Parvati seemed kind of out of character in the last chapter, but I mean...she's only known about this for as long as Lavender has, so she's naturally going to be incredibly mad. Hopefully this chapter is better than the last. Also, sorry that this chapter is so long. Or maybe...not sorry. Maybe it'll make up for the long absence. Anyway, please read and review, even if you don't like it. (: I love you guys and your lovely reviews. **

Lavender's dreams were filled with a harsh, cold, high-pitched voice telling her about how terrible of a friend she was. It sounded somewhat snakelike, kind of hissing at her, and she tossed and turned all night. Parvati appeared a few times, asking her in a pitiful voice why she couldn't have been more responsible and why she had done such a thing to her. The more she asked, the worse Lavender felt. And somewhere in the middle of all of this, there came a white light, so bright and enticing that it left a warm, fuzzy feeling in Lavender's body. It seemed to cancel out all of the bad thoughts in her head, and after that, she was able to sleep soundly. That is, until she started feeling sick to her stomach and had to wake up.

It was only about five in the morning. No one else was awake just yet, but Lavender thought she might have heard someone stirring upstairs. She threw her blanket off of her and tried to force the vomit working itself up her throat back down until she could make it to the bathroom, and then she realized that there was really no bathroom she could go to. There was no way she was going to go back to her dormitory with three very unfriendly girls sleeping in there. As she felt another lurch in her stomach, she jumped off of the couch and dashed out of the common room, down the hall where she knew there was a bathroom somewhere.

She was barely able to make it to the toilet before she started throwing up, and her strong emotions started to get to her. Tears were stinging in her eyes. She couldn't do this for eight more months. She couldn't handle it. Her throat was on fire, and her body was aching. Just when she thought she was going to collapse from tears, she felt someone's hand on her shoulder, and then he or she pulled her hair back out of her face. Lavender wanted to look and see who it was, but it seemed as if the sickness wouldn't stop.

"Seamus told me to come and check on you." The voice was familiar to Lavender. It was Dean Thomas, Seamus's best friend. "He's still getting ready. We're about to go out to the Quidditch field if you want to join us."

Did he not understand that she couldn't answer him right now? Tons of questions started running through Lavender's head as she heard him speak. What were they doing up so early? Why was Dean in the girls' bathroom? How did he even know she was in there?

When she thought that it was all over, she tore herself away from Dean and walked past him out of the stall, rushing to the sink to wash her mouth out. Dean followed after her, although Lavender wished more than anything that he would just leave her alone.

"So…you and Seamus…I never would have thought…" Dean said casually, obviously trying to make conversation. "It's so weird. What are you guys going to do?"

Lavender twisted the sink knob and started to rinse her mouth out, glaring at Dean as she did so. He was still staring at her as if expecting an answer, but she just planned on ignoring him. After she was sure that she was clean for the moment, she turned the water off and headed out of the bathroom, leaving Dean behind, she hoped. But he just continued to follow her.

"Okay, you know, I don't need a bodyguard or anything. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she snapped once they had reached the common room and she started gathering up her blankets. "What are you doing up, anyway? And how did you know I was in the bathroom?"

"Seamus and I always wake up early to go out to the Quidditch fields," Dean answered, ignoring her bad attitude. "We like to play it for fun, but neither of us could do it for real. We're not good enough." He paused for a second before he answered the second question. "And I was on my way downstairs when I saw you run out into the hallway. Thought it might be morning sickness or whatever."

Lavender stared at him for a moment, not quite sure of what she should say to him. After all, this was the first time that she had talked to him in quite some time. She decided to change the subject. "I don't want to go into my dormitory and get some clothes to change into. I've been wearing these clothes since yesterday, and I probably need to take a shower. But Parvati, Grace, and Haley won't like me being in there. I still haven't quite figured out what to do with that."

"You could probably use our showers. I don't know what to do about clothes, though." Dean shrugged. Lavender had a strong feeling that Dean wasn't doing this out of the kindness of his heart, but rather his teenage hormones inviting a girl to take a shower in his room.

"Thanks, but I think I'll go ask the fourth year girls if I could use theirs," Lavender said. "I doubt I can go back to sleep, so I guess I can go down to the Quidditch pitch with you guys. Should be fun."

By this time, the fourth year girls, along with a few others, were already up and stirring around. They were reluctant about letting Lavender use their bathroom, but one of them seemed to feel a little sorry for her and eventually made all of the others give in. Lavender showered and brushed her teeth with a spare toothbrush that one of the girls had brought with her, and then she headed up to her dormitory to get some clothes. This was going to be terrifying.

Lavender was not welcomed by anyone as she walked in, but she didn't care. She walked past all of them and to her bare bed, where she began digging in her trunk until she found a clean pair of robes for the day. Hermione Granger, who also shared a room with them, said good morning to her as she came in, and Lavender said it back, although she felt like perfect little Miss Granger was silently judging her. She trudged out of the room without one word to anyone else, and she finally came to a halt at the bottom of the staircase, where Dean and Seamus were waiting eagerly for her in the common room.

"I really thought you wouldn't be up for going to the pitch with us," Seamus said as they all walked out of the room and into the hallway. "I didn't know you were much into Quidditch."

"Oh, I'm not," Lavender said, her cheeks starting to blush a little. She didn't really know why she had agreed to hang out with the two of them anyway. She was still having a hard time believing that Seamus was being so nice to her after yesterday morning. "I just thought…you know…it might be fun."

"Do you know how to fly a broom?" Seamus asked, seemingly unfazed by the comment, as he was a huge Quidditch fan. "I can teach you. Maybe not now, since…well, you know…but later…" He suddenly looked embarrassed and looked down at the ground, clutching his broom just a little tighter than was necessary.

Lavender smiled a little to herself at his words. He was going to teach her to fly later. With those simple words, she knew that he would be sticking around for a long time. He was completely committed to this strange, awkward relationship that they had made for themselves. "I would like that," she said.

In a short time, they had made it to the Quidditch field. Lavender didn't really know what else to do, so she situated herself in the stands and watched as both Seamus and Dean mounted their brooms and started flying around the pitch a little clumsily, making it seem as if they hadn't been flying for a while. She was rather entertained by their effort, though, and she found herself wondering if Ron was going to do well on the Quidditch team this year. After all, she really liked him, and she was thinking about a way she could ask him out without it being awkward. Seriously, who would want to go out with a pregnant girl?

For about an hour or so, Lavender watched the two boys happily play around with each other like they had known each other their whole lives. It seemed as if they shared lots of inside jokes and spent a lot of time together, and they had a pretty inseparable friendship. Lavender used to have that with Parvati. They had met on the Hogwarts Express and were declaring themselves best friends after only a week of introduction. They spent some of their summers together and a few of their holidays. But it wouldn't be like that anymore. Being around Seamus and Dean made her sad, and she wondered a little bit if perhaps she didn't need to befriend them after all. Maybe she should have just kept her mouth shut about the whole thing, lied about who the father was, and never talked to Seamus to begin with.

"Hey, Lavender! We probably need to get back to the Great Hall for breakfast. You probably need some food so you can-" Seamus stopped in the middle of his sentence and stared at her like he had never seen her before. And then, without another word, he gathered up his broom and walked out of the Quidditch pitch, with Lavender and Dean following close behind him.

"Lavender, I've been thinking a lot over the past day," Seamus said after they began the long, steep walk up the hill to the castle. He cast a look at Dean, which clearly meant that he should not be involved in this conversation. With a look of understanding, Dean stumbled up the hill quickly until he was out of earshot. When he was sure that Dean was not eavesdropping, Seamus continued. "I've decided that I was acting really rude to you yesterday. And I'm really sorry about that. This is just as much my problem as it is yours. I know we don't really know each other, but we can start now. And just so you know, I don't care about me reputation or anything like that. When you make mistakes, you make mistakes. And if people want to judge you for it, then so be it. I don't care about all of that. But I'll be by your side until the very end of this, okay?"

Lavender hadn't expected him to tell her all of this. She was completely startled by the words, and when he was finished, he stared at her as if he was waiting on her to say something. But honestly, she didn't know anything that she could say. "Well, that's…thank you," she managed to get out, and then mentally kicked herself for sounding so stupid.

Seamus smiled a little, and Lavender smiled in return. She had never really noticed how nice his smile was. No wonder Parvati was so in love with him. "So we can start by getting to know each other," Seamus said. They had reached the castle now, and they were walking into the Great Hall, where a few students were stumbling in and yawning from their dormitories. "I'll go first. What's your middle name?"

Lavender frowned as she sat across from him at the table. Dean was at the very end of the table with Neville, and they, along with many of the other Gryffindors, were looking in their direction. "Pass. I don't want to tell you. It's embarrassing. What's yours?" She grabbed a piece of toast in front of her and spread some marmalade on it. She felt like she hadn't eaten in days.

"Liam," Seamus answered as if it was no big deal. "I'm not too crazy about it, but it's not the worst. I'm named after me granddad. But if I told you mine, you have to tell me yours." He smiled mischievously and shoved a plate of bacon toward her. She took it happily.

"I was named after my grandmother, and that's all I'm saying," Lavender said, deciding that it was time for her to change subjects. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No. You?"

"A little sister. Her name is Marissa. She'll be at Hogwarts in a couple of years."

Before they even knew it, they were sharing their life stories with each other, careful not to share too much information, though. Lavender was still incredibly scared that she was going to scare Seamus off. And besides, he hadn't gained her full trust just yet…

"Mr. Finnigan. Miss Brown." They both looked up. It was close to the end of breakfast, and almost everyone had abandoned their tables and started toward their classes. The only people that were in the room now were a few Hufflepuffs, Seamus, Lavender, and Professor McGonagall. She was towering over both of them with a straight, stern expression on her face. "Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office, please."

Lavender and Seamus exchanged glances of worry and concern. Lavender had felt so uncomfortable talking to their headmaster yesterday, and she didn't know if she could do it again today. She might be sick. But Seamus reached across the table and patted her on the shoulder, almost as awkwardly as he had touched her last night, like he wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do. "It'll be okay, Lav."

Lavender froze, and she felt hot tears starting to sting around the corners of her eyes. Without a word to him, she grabbed her books and got up from the table, following Professor McGonagall swiftly out of the room. Seamus trotted along behind them.

"Are you okay?" he asked her when he had caught up to her. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine," Lavender said, although her insides were saying otherwise. "It's just that…Parvati was the only person that ever called me Lav. And now, she doesn't want to talk to me." She frowned at him and bit her lip, and they didn't say another word to each other on the entire trek to Dumbledore's office.

Today, Dumbledore seemed to be in a particularly good mood, for when they entered his office, he was writing a letter and humming to himself. "Thank you, Minerva," he said after what seemed like a lifetime of humming. "I'll handle it from here. Unless you would like to stay for the meeting. Sherbet lemon?" He pushed a small bowl of yellowish candies toward Seamus and Lavender and peered at them over his half-moon spectacles. Both declined, and Dumbledore shrugged a little and took one of the little candies for himself. "Unusually quiet today. I know that neither of you are ever this quiet. Is there something you would like to talk about?"

"Obviously there's something you want to talk about, Professor, because you called us here," Seamus murmured, and Professor McGonagall gave him another stern look.

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore said, rising from his seat and moving over to the window. "I see you two have come to an agreement over this whole ordeal. Do you have any plans about what to do with it yet?"

Seamus and Lavender both glanced at each other for a split second, and then Lavender looked back down at the floor, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red. The more she talked about her pregnancy, the more embarrassed she became. She still felt completely ashamed of herself, and she couldn't bear talking to such an admirable authority figure such as Dumbledore about it. But, just like yesterday, when she didn't answer, Dumbledore turned to face her in order to get an answer.

"I said something about adoption, but we haven't really talked about it," she said, careful not to meet anyone's eyes. "It's kind of confusing, Professor. You see, Seamus and I weren't even…" She trailed off, her cheeks turning brighter and brighter red by the second. Every time she explained her situation to anyone, she thought she made herself sound like a slut. But it wasn't like that, really. "We're not really…" She tried again, but the words still got lost on her tongue.

"You are housemates and nothing more," Dumbledore said in a completely understanding tone. Lavender heaved a sigh of relief, thankful that she didn't have to say it. "Barely came into contact with each other over the six years you have been attending school together. And yet, you are having a baby together."

Lavender gulped down the sickness that was rising in her throat and nodded slowly, wishing more than anything that she could just fall through the floor and disappear. "Yes, sir. It was an accident. We didn't know-"

"Alas!" Dumbledore exclaimed, interrupting Lavender and causing her to jump. "It's always an accident, isn't it, Miss Brown? No one means for this to happen." He moved swiftly to his seat again, much too swiftly for his age, and sat down. "Not to worry, not to worry. I'm sure you two will become fast friends. You're lucky that Mr. Finnigan decided to stay by your side. I've seen many boys abandon a girl in her greatest time of need because he was afraid of his well-being being damaged."

Lavender didn't know what else to do but nod here. When she thought about it, she was kind of lucky. Plenty of other women had gotten pregnant at a young age, but they were in completely different situations.

"Have you written to your parents yet?" Dumbledore asked.

Lavender heard Seamus breathe in deeply from beside her, and she knew that he had completely forgotten about telling his parents. She had as well. She had meant to write to them last night, but she had so many other things on her mind. "No, sir. Don't you think it's a little soon to be telling them?"

"Not at all. After all, you've been pregnant for a month."

"But I only just found out a couple of days ago."

"Why don't I make it easier on you? I'll invite them all to my office this weekend, and we'll tell them together. I'll assure them that I will do the best I can to help you through this long and difficult journey, and I will let you make your own decisions about the child." He paused as he heard Lavender let out a breath, and he peered down at her over his long, crooked nose. "Why, you must tell them sometime. You don't expect to get through this and not let them know."

After a moment's pause, Lavender and Seamus both muttered a "No, sir."

"Excellent. So this weekend, then?" Dumbledore's eyes were sparkling, as if he had something that he wanted to say to them, but he didn't say it. "And perhaps a doctor's appointment within the next couple of weeks? We'll have to get a Mediwitch from St. Mungo's to come and check you out, as Madame Pomfrey is not trained in that specific area." He waited for a response from either of the teenagers in front of him or from Professor McGonagall, but none of them spoke. "Okay then. So, Minerva, could you kindly escort them back to class? I understand they are both in your higher level Transfiguration class in about five minutes. You might want to hurry." He bowed to her and smiled, and Professor McGonagall motioned for Lavender and Seamus to follow her out of the room.

Lavender was, to say the least, scared of what was going to happen. Her mother and father were not going to be pleased with her at all, and she couldn't even imagine how they were going to react when they heard the news. Especially since they had never even heard of a boy named Seamus, and they would know that Lavender didn't much know him either. She was terrible at lying.

Professor McGonagall seemed like she was frustrated all throughout their Transfiguration lesson. A few Ravenclaw girls started giggling about something in the middle of class and McGonagall issued them all a report to be due by the next Transfiguration class on Thursday, something that was very unlike her to do. Lavender made sure that she sat far away from Seamus in the room so that Parvati would not cause any trouble. She had seen them talking at breakfast and for some reason felt like the way to solve her anger was to start calling Lavender names behind her back. Lavender didn't really care that Parvati was calling her names, or, at least that's what she said. On the inside, she still kept wishing that maybe she would wake up tomorrow and all of this would be a terrible nightmare, and maybe she would have her best friend back. But she knew it wouldn't happen.

The rest of the morning seemed to drag on forever. Lavender had all of her classes with Parvati because that's how they had gotten their schedules made at the beginning of the year. Both of them had planned on being Healers together, but now Lavender wasn't so sure what she wanted to do. She had a secret passion for writing and would have loved to write books, but she had also made sure that her higher level classes would help her in her dream to work at a wizarding hospital. But that was not something she needed to be worrying about now. She had a baby on the way and had no idea what to do with it. That could affect the rest of her future.

At lunch, Lavender sat with Seamus, Dean, and Neville because she had nowhere else to sit, but every once in a while, she would look down the table to catch a glimpse of Ron. A few times he caught her looking in his direction, and he would stare at her in confusion, like he didn't know what she was doing. She would look away quickly and hope that perhaps he might come and talk to her, but it never happened. As soon as he had finished eating, he left the room with Harry and Hermione, arguing with Hermione the whole way out. Perhaps he didn't like her after all…

"Did you like Parvati?" she asked suddenly, looking at Seamus. Dean and Neville had made their way down to the end of the table to talk to Cormac McLaggen, who was still angry about not getting put on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Judging by the look on Seamus's face, she knew that she probably needed to explain herself. "I mean, she liked you, you know. You guys hung out all the time, and she said that she was waiting on you to ask her to Hogsmeade, but you never did. Did you like her?"

Seamus was hesitant. He didn't really know what he was supposed to say to her. "Well…" he looked down the table at Parvati, who seemed to be a whole lot less angry than she had been in the past couple of days. "Yeah, I guess. We were pretty good friends. I was actually planning on asking her to Hogsmeade this term…but I guess I won't now."

"Why not?" Lavender asked, almost jumping out of her skin as she leaned across the table to him. "I mean, she likes you, and you like her. Tell her we're putting the baby up for adoption, and we're going to pretend like none of this ever happened. Maybe she won't be mad at me anymore." She would do anything to have her best friend back. Anything. Even though she hated Parvati with a strong passion right now, she missed her. A lot. She couldn't possibly get through this pregnancy without her. She had always been the one to tell Lavender that everything was going to be okay.

"Don't you think that would be a little…I don't know…awkward?" Seamus asked. "I mean, she's your best friend-"

"Was my best friend," Lavender corrected him. "She was my best friend. I don't even exist to her anymore." She paused, and then she rushed into her next thought. "Well, I guess I do exist since she likes to point out how terrible I am every time she sees me. I feel so awful." She pushed her plate away from her and laid her head down on the table.

"You need to eat," Seamus told her, pushing her plate toward her again. She ignored him. "Fine. Is that what you want? You want me to ask her out?"

Lavender nodded into her arms, though she did not look up at him.

"Well, I'm not going to do it. I don't have time for all of that right now. Maybe later, when we're done with all of this. But not now."

Lavender groaned frustratedly and looked up at him. He was completely serious. And then she realized that she was acting like a total idiot. There was nothing she could do to save her friendship with Parvati. It was destroyed forever. She might as well whisper a goodbye into the wind and move on with her life.

As she looked down the table again at Parvati, she saw that Parvati was already looking in her direction. But now, she didn't have a look of anger or disgust written on her face. It was a look of…concern? Sympathy? She wasn't sure, but it most definitely wasn't anger. Maybe Parvati wasn't mad at her anymore. Maybe everything was going to be okay.

But that was a large hope for Lavender. She was a horrible person.


End file.
